The death of Brumbies forward Shawn Mackay will be treated as culpable homicide by the SAPS.

Mackay, who was knocked over in the early hours of Sunday 29 March by an armed response vehicle, passed away on Monday 6 April. The South African Police Services, who haven’t made an arrest, had been treating it as a matter of negligent driving before Mackay’s death.

‘It will be investigated like all other accidents and when the investigation is finalised, it will be handed to the director of public prosecutions to decide whether anybody should be prosecuted,’ police spokesperson Phindile Radebe told The Mercury.

Meanwhile, lock Mark Chisholm has been ruled out for the rest of the season after dislocating his wrist.

Brumbies coach Andy Friend added players who don’t feel up to playing won’t be forced to face the Stormers.

‘We’ll certainly respect every player’s view on that, for all of us this is an absolute tragedy,’ said Friend. ‘We’ve got a lot of young players who’ve never dealt with anything like this in the past. So if players aren’t up for playing we’re certainly not going to make them play.’